Exposed

Newport man fined for posting racist comments on Facebook

A NEWPORT man has been fined after posting racist comments on Facebook.

Jason Gwyer, aged 32, of Brown Close, was convicted of a racially aggravated public order offence after posting racists comments on Facebook in relation to the annual Ashura march which takes place in Newport.

The march organised by the Islamic Society for Wales was to commemorate the anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Hussain who was killed in Karbala, Iraq, more than 1,300 years ago.

The details of the march were published in the Argus in November, 2014, and Gwyer posted a photo of the article along with racist comments on his Facebook page on November 12, 2014.

Gwyer posted: “Need this to go viral!!!! Muslims think they are going to have a nice little march thru my city on Sunday!!! think not!!! Need as much force as possable. We need to stand up and tell these vile pigs where to go!!! Who is with me??? Please share.”

He was found guilty at Newport Magistrates Court and fined £165. He also had to pay costs of £620.

He was also charged with producing class b drug cannabis and possession of a class b drug which was cannabis. He pleaded guilty to both offences.

He received a 12 month community order, a £100 fine and the drugs were ordered for destruction.

PC Ricky Thomas, investigating officer, after the hearing, said: “Gwent Police will not tolerate any type of hate crime in our communities. We will investigate it and put evidence before the courts for the offender to be dealt with.

“I hope this serves as a warning to people who think that by posting on social media sites that it is anonymous in some way – it isn’t and it’s still an offence. We would encourage anyone who has concerns about anything they see on social media to report it to us on 101.”